Tie unloading and loading mechanism



June 22, 1943. E. H. KIDDER 2,322,636

TIE UNLOADING AND LOADING MECHANISM Filed July 9, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 1June 22, 1943. E. H. KlDDER 2,322,636

TIE UNLOADING AND LOADING MECHANISM Filed July 9, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2@hwaM June 22, 1943. E. H. KIDDER TIE UNLOADING AND LOADING MECHANISM :5Sheets-Sheet :5

Filed Jul'y 9, 1941 Patented June 22, 1943 TIE UNLOADIN G AND LOADINGMECHANISM Elwin H. Kidder, La Porte, Ind., assignor to AmericanCreosoting Company,

Inc., Louisville, Ky.,

a corporation of Delaware Application July 9, 1941, Serial No. 401,672

8 Claims.

The invention relates to mechanism for loading and unloading railwaycars and particularly to means for transferring railway ties between abox car and a stack adjacent thereto.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a hoist structurewhich is equally well adapted to handle ties or the like when stackingthem in or removing them from either end of a car, one which is simplein construction and operation and which requires no relative adjustmentof the parts thereof when transferring operations from one end of a carinto the other.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a hoist mechanismincluding a boom mounted substantially semi-circular trackway disposedin a horizontal plane and adapted to have either end thereof swingthrough the door of a railway car, a traveling carriage mounted by saidtrackway'and movable from one end to the other thereof; hoist meansmounted on said carriage and a. carrier suspended by said hoist meanswhereby when either end of said boom mounted trackway is swung into acar through the center door thereof the end of the trackway will occupya position adjacent one end of the car and the other end will extendoutside a considerable distance to provide for movement of the carriageon the trackway from within the car to a point substantiallyremovedtherefrom for the stacking of removed materials outside the car.

vision of power operated means for traversing the carriage from end toend of the track-way, power operated hoist means on the carrier andcontrol means for both the hoist means and the power operated traversingmeans whereby a single operator may lead or unload a car, 'stack ing theties or other material in place in the car or on dolly cars adjacent thecar, as the case may be, with a minimum of effort, it being necessarymerely for the operator to actuate suitable control switchesconveniently located on an article engaging member such as a tie graband to guide the same as it is moved by the power means into and out ofthe car and raised and, lowered for picking up and depositing a load.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the following detailed description of .a. preferred embodiment ofthe invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form apart hereof and wherein:

Another object of the invention is the pro- Fig. 1 is an end view of anembodiment of the invention in position for loading or unloading arailway car;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 ofFig. 2 and Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan View of the traveling carriage andswivel hoist arm carried thereby.

Referring now more particularly to the details of the accompanyingdrawings It) indicates a truck, preferably provided with flanged Wheelsll for running on a narrow gauge track l2 such as on a dock l3 parallelto a siding M for a railway car l5 to be unloaded or loaded with ties orthe like. Although the invention will be described with particularreference to the loading and unloading of railway ties from box cars, itwill be understood that it may be used for handling other material, aswell, when desired.

A vertical mast l6, rigidly mounted on the truck It has a radialhorizontal arm I! swivelled thereon. The arm I? and iscarried by abearing sleeve Hi to which it is rigidly secured and which is journalledon the mast and is also vertically adjustable thereon. A gusset braceplate 59 between the sleeve i 8 and horizontally extending arm I!contributes to the rigidity thereof. A swivel head 20 journailed on theupper end of the mast It carries a pulley 2| over which a cable 22passes. The cable 22 is attached to the arm I! at one end and from thepulley 2! passes down through the; hollow mast i6 and winds on a drum 23carried on the truck I B. By paying out or taking in the cable 22,theelevation of the arm i? can be adjusted within the limits of movementof the sleeve #8 on the mast I6.

A substantially semi-circular horizontal track- Way structure 24, for awheeled truck or hoist carriage 25 adapted to traverse the same, isrigidly mounted on the outer end of the radial arm ll. The point ofconnection of the arm I! to the track structure is substantially midwayof the ends of the same so that a quadrant of approximately of trackextends in each direction circumferentially from the outer end of thearm.

The semi-circular horizontal trackway structure 24 comprises a pluralityof spaced concentric curved channel sections formed into a rigid unitand welded or otherwise rigidly secured at its central point to theouter end of the radial arm ll so that the two lie in substantially thesame horizontal plane. Gusset plates 26 welded to the track structureand arm I! strengthen thr is in the form of a tubs! structure againstboth lateral and torsional strains. 7

The curved track proper for the wheeled truck 25 comprises a pair ofspaced channel members 55 in facing relation. A top tie plate 3| restson the upper flange of the channel members 30 and is welded thereto soas to form a rigid unit. At intervals a transverse saddle or yoke 32 inthe form of an inverted U-shaped member, formed of square tubular stock,is mounted athwart the track members with the depending legs 33 thereofextended down in back of the respective channel members 38 and securedthereto. Additional strength and rigidity is provided by a second pairof channel members 34 outside of the legs 33 of the yckes 30 and rigidlyconnected to the top tie plate 3| at the upper end and bottom tie plates35 which are secured to the bottom flanges of the respective channelmembers 30 and 34 at each side, leaving the middle space clear for thepassage of the carriage 25. Angle brackets 34 additionally fasten thechannel members 34 to the legs 33 of yokes 32.

The carriage 25 comprises a base or frame member 38 having upstandingbearing hangers 31 at each end for the bearings 38 of the axles 39 ofthe flanged wheels 40 by which the carriage is supported on the trackmembers 30. The base 35 mounts a reversible electric motor 4| whichthrough a worm gear reducer 4| drives a spur gear 42 meshing with atoothed rack 43 mounted on the under face of the top tie plate 3| forthe purpose of propelling the carriage along the curved trackway fromend to end'thereof.

A depending pivot pin 44 rigidly mounted on the base of the carriage 25,substantially centrally thereof, providesthe mount for a swivelled' boomarm 45, suitable bearings 46 being provided so thatthe arm 45 will swingfreely about the supporting pivot pin 44 in a horizontal plane. On oneside of the bearings 46, the arm 45 is pron'ided with a vertical flange41 to which is attached a housing 48 of a hoist drum 49 mounted on a,shaft 54 extending transversely thereof.

A reversible electric motor and reduction gear unit 52 therefor are inturn mounted on the hoist drum housing 48. The power output gear 53 ofthe motor-gear drive is a bevel gear which extends into the housing 48and meshes with a bevel gear 54 which drives the winding drum '49.

A hoist cable 55 winding on the drum 49 extends through the arm 45 andover a pulley 56 mounted at the other end thereof. To provide for travelof the cable laterally'as it winds on and oif of the drum 49, the pivotpin 44 is forked between the bearing ends thereof to pass the cable.

The end of the cable 55 depending from the pulley 56 is attached to atie grab 51 which mounts a handle 58. The handle 58 carries a pluralityof push button switches for controlling the operation of the traversingmotor 4| and hoist motor 5|. Power for operation of the motors is takenfrom trolley rails 59 and 50, mounted on the underside of tie plate 3|of the track structure, by trolley shoes BI and 62 mounted on thecarriage 25.

The trolley shoes BI and 62 are connected to the switches 53, 64, 65 and66 through cable 61, the circuits being arranged so that, for instancethe switch 63 controls the hoist motor 5| to raise the tie grab, switch64 controls the same to lower the grab, switch 65 controls thetraversing motor 4| to cause it to run in one direction to move thecarriage 25 toward one end of the curved trackway and switch 66 controlsthe same to run in the opposite direction to move the carriage towardthe other end.

In operation, for instance in unloading ties 61 from a railway car, theheight of the radial arm I! and curved track 24 may first be adjusted sothat the track will clear the stacks of ties in the car to'be unloaded.The base E0 is positioned alongside the car to one side of the door inthe direction of the end to be first unloaded. The arm ll and trackway24 are then swung about the axis of the mast IE to swing one end of thetrackway into the car'a sufficient distance to reach a position over thestack of ties to be removed. The operator then grasps the handle of thetie grab 5'! and by pressing the appropriate switch buttons adjusts theheight thereof and causes the carriage 25 to be propelled to a positionover the ties. During this operation, the operator follows the grab,merely guiding the same. through the door and to final position as heoperates motor 5| to lower the grab on the ties. The free swinging arm45 permits the operator to reach ties disposed laterally of the trackwayand beyond the end thereof. Having lowered the grab on the ties to betaken out, the operator presses the button switch 63 to hoist the loadand presses the button 55 or 65 as the case may be to actuate the motor4! and propel the carriage with the suspended load along the trackwayout of the car to a position over a dolly car $8 on tracks 69 alongsidethe unloader. He then presses the button 64 to lower the ties onto thedolly car, which, after a stack of sufiicient size has been built upthereon, is replaced by an empty one.

After repeating this operation until the first end of the car isunloaded, the trackway is swung out of the car and the base It] is movedto a similar position on the other side of the door. I'he'rotation ofthe trackway about the mast I6 is then continued to swing the other endof the trackway through the door to unloading position within the car.It will thus be observed that by the provision of a semi-circular,center-mounted trackway structure which can be rotated in a horizontalplane completely about it central axis, a very simple and readilyadaptable unloader is provided which can be used in either end of a carwithout readjustment of any of its parts or without requiringduplication of parts to effect its purpose.

Although a preferred embodiment of the inven tion has been shown anddescribed by way of illustration, it will be understood thatmodification of the details of construction and mode of operation may beresorted to within the spirit of invention as defined in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. In car loading and unloading apparatus, a boom support mounted torotate about a vertical axis, a substantially horizontal boom armmounted on said support, a semi-circular horizontal track structuremounted on the outer end of said boom arm coaxial with said boomsupport, the point of connection of said boom arm to said trackstructure being substantially midway of the ends thereof to providecomplementary arcuate track sections of substantially equal lengthextending in opposite directions from the outer end of said boom armwhereby said boom arm may be swung about its axis selectively in eitherdirection to position the respective ends of said track structure in theopposite ends of a railway car through the center doorway thereof withthe other endof said track structure extending outwardly from thedoorway, a carriage movable from end to end of said trackway and hoistmeans mounted on said carriage.

2. In car loading and unloading apparatus, a wheeled base, a verticalmast mounted on said base, a horizontal boom arm mounted at one end ofsaid mast and swingable about the axis thereof as a center, asubstantially semi-circular horizontal track structure mounted at theouter end of said boom arm with the point of connection between the armand track structure substantially medially of the ends thereof and withthe track structure disposed coaxially with said mast to providecomplementary arcuate track section of substantially equal lengthextending in opposite directions from the outer end of said boom armwhereby said boom arm may be swung about its axis selectively in eitherdirection to position the respective ends of said track structure in theopposite ends of a railway car through the center doorway thereof withthe other end of said track structure extending outwardly from thedoorway, a hoist carriage mounted on said track structure and movablefrom end to end thereof, a horizontally disposed swivel arm pendentlysupported by said hoist carriage, and motor operated hoist means mountedon said arm.

3. In car loading and unloading apparatus, a wheeled base, a verticalmast mounted on said base, a horizontal boom arm mounted at one end onsaid mast and swingabl about the axis thereof as a center, asubstantially semi-circular horizontal track structure mounted at theouter end of said boom arm with the point of connection between the armand track structure substantially medially of the ends thereof and withthe track structure disposed coaxially with said mast to providecomplementary arcuate track sections extending circumferentially in bothdirection from the outer end of said boom arm, a hoist carriage mountedon said track structure and movable from end to end thereof, areversible motor drive mounted on said carriage for propelling the sameback and forth along said track, a horizontally disposed swivel armpendently supported by said hoist carriage, and motor operated hoistmeans mounted on said arm.

4. In car loading and unloading apparatus, a wheeled base, a verticalmast mounted on said base, a horizontal boom arm mounted at one end onsaid mast and swingable about the axis thereof as a center, asubstantially semi-circular horizontal track structure mounted at theouter end of said boom arm with the point of connection between the armand track structure substantially medially of the ends thereof and withthe track structure disposed coaxially with said mast, a hoist carriagemounted on said track structure and movable from end to end thereof, areversible motor drive mounted on said carriag for propelling the sameback and forth along said track, a horizontally disposed swivel armpendently supported by said hoist carriage, a motor driven winding drummounted on said arm, a hoist cable wound on said drum and extending overthe end of said arm, an article lifting member carried by sai hoistcable, and control means for said carriage propelling motor and saidmotor driven winding drum on said article gripping member.

5. In car loading and unloading apparatus, a mobile base, asubstantially horizontally extending boom arm mounted on said base toswing completely around a vertical axis, a substantially semi-circularhorizontally disposed track structure rigidly attached midway of itsends to the outer end of said boom arm, in concentric relation to saidvertical axis to provide complementary arcuate track sections ofsubstantially equal length extending in opposite directions from theouter end of said boom arm whereby said boom arm may be swung about itsaxis selectively in either direction to position the respective ends ofsaid track structure in the opposite ends of a railway car through thecenter doorway thereof with the other end of said track structureextending outwardly from the doorway, a carriage mounted on the trackstructure and movable from end to end thereof and hoist means mounted onsaid carriage.

6. In car loading and unloading apparatus, a mobile base, asubstantially horizontally extending boom arm mounted on said bas toswing completely around a vertical axis, a substantially semi-circularhorizontally disposed track structure rigidly attached midway of itsends to the outer end of said boom arm, in concentric relation to saidvertical axis, a carriage mounted on the track structure and movablefrom end to end thereof, a reversible motor drive mounted on saidcarriage for propelling the same back and forth along said track, ahorizontally disposed swivel arm pendently supported by said hoistcarriage, and motor operated hoist means mounted on said arm.

7. In car loading and unloading apparatus, a substantially horizontallyextending boom arm mounted to swing completely around a vertical axis, asubstantially semi-circular horizontally disposed track structurerigidly attached intermediate its ends to the outer end of said boomarm, a carriage mounted on the track structure and movable from end toend thereof, a reversible motor drive mounted on said carriage forpropelling the same back and forth along said track, a horizontallydisposed swivel arm pendently supported by said hoist carriage, a motordriven winding drum mounted on said arm, a hoist cable wound on saiddrum and extending over the end of said arm, an article lifting membercarried by said hoist cable, and control means for said carriagepropelling motor and said motor driven winding drum on said articlegripping member.

8. In car loading and unloading apparatus, a mobile base, asubstantially horizontally extending boom arm mounted on said base toswing completely around a vertical axis, a substantially semi-circularhorizontally disposed track structure rigidly attached midway of itsends to the outer end of said boom arm, in concentric relation to saidvertical axis, a carriage mounted on the track structure and movablefrom end to end thereof and means for adjusting the height of said boomarm and track structure with respect to said base.

ELWIN H. KIDDER.

